Styrene compounds, which have a single vinyl group on its benzene ring thereof, and divinylbenzene compounds, which have two vinyl groups on its benzene ring, have long been used as a starting material for ion exchange resins. An example of compounds obtained by replacing hydrogen atoms of the vinyl group of these compounds with fluorine atoms is (trifluorovinyl)benzene, which is an industrially useful compound as a functional material, such as an electrolyte membrane for fuel cells and a resist material, or an intermediate for producing a pharmaceutical or an agrochemical.
There are reports on an instance of synthesis of bis(trifluorovinyl)benzene (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1), but there are no instances of industrial application using it. This is probably because bis(trifluorovinyl)benzene has poor heat stability.
For example, it is reported that heating (trifluorovinyl)benzene easily results in cyclic dimerization thereof to give a perfluorocyclobutane compound (see, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). Also there are reports on an instance of synthesis of a polymer through the cyclic dimerization (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2), but the cyclic dimerization proceeds even in common polymerization conditions to thereby sometimes cause problems in intended polymerization. Long-term storage stability is also a serious problem. Therefore, there is a need for a bis(trifluorovinyl)benzene compound excellent in heat stability.